| Popis: |
The last half of the twentieth century has seen the development of several significant Christian theologies of liberation. These have emerged out of historical contexts of race, class and gender oppression and have been initiated by Christian communities and individuals who seek to respond to their social, economic and political contexts through the medium of their Christian faith. This study seeks firstly to explore the central criteria for the creation of such theologies and then to use these criteria as a means of exploring the ways in which the Black Led Church has been able to engage with the concept and material realities of liberation within its own British context. The exploration begins with an analysis of five key developmental themes which have had a significant impact on the Church's relationship to both its theology and its manifestation of liberation. These themes are then further developed through six essential criteria for liberation which are applied to its contemporary interaction in British society. The study argues that the syncretistic foundation of the Church stands as both a source and a limitation to full theological liberation. Nonetheless, a holistic and contextual liberational spirituality does exist and provides an essential energy for both passive and radical change. The methodological emphasis is contextual. Therefore the study draws heavily from transcripts of interviews and services and also utilises, as much as possible, works produced by Church and network organisations in addition to the observation carried out at five key denominations in Birmingham. The study's emphasis on a contextual understanding of theological liberation is important in that it firmly aligns the Church with meaningful liberation in Britain - not only for its members, but also for wider Black communities. In so doing it highlights the often unacknowledged role of the Church in the cultural and political mobilisation of Black people in British society. |
